Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, is urging churchgoers to leave the £1 coins in shopping trolleys and to pay more than the asking price when they buy goods in charity shops as part of a drive to give up materialism for Lent.
Booklets being sent to 50,000 clergy, parishes and church schools contain suggestions such as wearing a jumper at home and turning the heating down, giving up a place in a queue to someone in a rush, missing a meal and saying a prayer instead, and listening to a friend’s story without interrupting them.
The proposals are published in a booklet, Love Life, Live Lent, which carries the warning: “These actions could seriously affect you and the world you live in.” Dr Sentamu says in the foreword: “Generosity is a key ingredient in making neighbourhoods flourish and I think this Lent programme could help us become a more generous Church.”